a blog about everything related to youth raising French angora rabbits

Black Diamond Kits

Sage's Kits, Nine Weeks Old

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Carson Sierra Spinners and Weavers Guild

(I just went through the drafts I have in the listing of posts. Most of them belong to Charlotte and Lydia; they have some re-writing to do. But the following one is mine, and I have no idea why I didn't post it at the time I wrote it.)

About a year after the girls got their first rabbits and I got my first spinning wheel, I joined the local spinning guild. I had two main purposes in doing so. First, I wanted to learn how to spin better; and second, I thought it might be a good opportunity for selling the girls' fiber and rabbits.

And indeed, we have sold fiber and one rabbit so far. But what has been really great is all that I have learned about spinning. The ladies are all very helpful and encouraging. Each month there is a "learning tree" opportunity. In July we dyed sock blanks. So I first learned what a sock blank is. For those as uneducated as I, a sock blank is double-stranded yarn knit into a rectangle. That rectangle of knitted fabric is then dyed using condiment bottles to squirt on the dye. The dye is set, the rectangle dried, and then you ravel the rectangle into two balls of identically dyed yarn. You then knit that up into perfectly matched socks.

As I look at the pictures, I think I'm missing summer. I'm usually great with winter. I love cold weather and the snow. And we are so grateful to have so much snow to help alleviate the drought. But I get to missing blue skies.

Anyway, the spinning guild has been fabulous for learning about different spinning wheels, various spinning techniques, properties of fibers, etc. This month's learning tree will be on dyeing and color. Charlotte is thinking about attending as well.

2 comments:

The meetings are held on the second Saturday of each month, from 10AM to about 2PM. The informal gathering, knitting, spinning, buying, chit-chatting starts at 10:00. The business portion begins at 11:00. That takes about 1/2 hour, then there is show and tell (projects completed or in progress). There is a short break for lunch and more chit-chat and such, and then the learning portion begins. Dues are $25 per year, which I was initially put off by, but I have found the guild to be very worthwhile.

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If you are interested in a rabbit or if you have questions, drop us a line at blackdiamondbunnies@gmail.com.

Please, please, please email us with questions, or post them on the blog. We really want to be sure our rabbits are going to good homes with responsible owners ready to care for them. While all of our customers thus far have been very nice people who we have every confidence are providing the best of care for their rabbits, we have had some concerns with individuals who have expressed interest in our rabbits. If we are not completely comfortable with an individual, we will not sell you a rabbit. That's just the way it is. One excellent way for us to become comfortable with you and with your level of preparation is for you to ask questions. What we really do not want to see is someone who emails and says, "I'm ready for my rabbit now. When can I come by?"

If you wish to speak with us in person, we'll be happy to give you a call, or provide our phone number through an email. We're sorry, but because this is the Internet, and because we have young women involved, we can't post our phone number or physical address online. We live about 20 minutes north of the 395/Interstate 80 junction in Reno.

1970's Soviet Propaganda Poster, Rabbit Style

This photo graced the top of the blog for several months. Why do I call it a Soviet propaganda poster? Because it looks just like one. (I got my degree in Russian in 1987. I got to see a whole lot of Soviet propaganda posters in the course of my studies.) Anyway, it's classic Soviet propaganda. There is almost always a lighter individual, centered and higher than the darker individuals who are flanking and lower. The lighter individual looks up and to the side, into the light. The sun's rays smile down, indicating a bright future. We could never have gotten this pose in a million years if we'd been trying.